Meetup exists to help everyone, everywhere spread real, local community. Today, over 20 million people create community as members of local Meetups, and tech is our fastest growing category. In the United States alone, there are nearly 3 million tech Meetup members participating in 11,000 tech Meetups spread across 1,100 towns and cities.

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Through tech Meetups, millions of Americans have learned new skills, started businesses, and created jobs and opportunities that ultimately change lives.

That’s why Meetup is excited to support President Obama’s new Tech Hire initiative, which launched today, and aims to help people gain tech skills and greater access to tech jobs. As a technology company, we know it’s critical to prepare people for jobs in the new economy, and higher education is not the only way to get there. We’ve seen firsthand that the best way to become a developer or an entrepreneur isn’t a specialized degree, but knowledge exchange with peers. A tech Meetup can be transformational for a person, a company, and a city because it opens a space for innovation through collaboration.

We applaud President Obama for recognizing the power of these communities and for opening more pathways for people to get the opportunity they deserve.